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CBS Tops Wednesday Night’s Ratings

By Benjamin Toff October 2, 2008 2:26 pmOctober 2, 2008 2:26 pm

“Criminal Minds” and “CSI: NY” dominated the ratings race for CBS on Wednesday, while the premieres of ABC’s lineup failed to reel in viewers. According to Nielsen’s estimates, CBS’s “Criminal Minds” at 9 p.m. and “CSI: NY” at 10 p.m. earned the night’s largest audiences, with 14.5 million and 14.7 million viewers respectively.

CBS easily led the night over all, even as its comedies during the 8 p.m. hour, “The New Adventures of Old Christine” (6.9 million) and “Gary Unmarried” (7 million), finished behind Fox’s “Bones” (9.8 million) and NBC’s “Knight Rider” (7.6 million).

ABC’s second-season debut of “Pushing Daisies” came in fourth in the 8 p.m. hour. With 6.3 million viewers, the show attracted fewer than half of the 13 million who tuned in last year’s first episode. ABC finished third for the night over all, faring better at 9 p.m. with “Private Practice” (8 million) and at 10 p.m. with “Dirty Sexy Money” (7.1 million), although both series were likewise down considerably compared with a year ago. The series premiere of “Private Practice” last year attracted 14.4 million viewers, while “Dirty Sexy Money” earned 10.4 million viewers in its debut episode.

NBC ranked second for the night thanks to the finale of “America’s Got Talent” at 9 p.m. (12.6 million). At 10 p.m., NBC’s “Lipstick Jungle” drew a mediocre 5.3 million people. Although NBC finished second in total viewers, among adults 18 to 49, the network was third, just behind ABC and well behind CBS.

Fox finished fourth for the night, garnering 4.3 million viewers during the 9 p.m. hour with two episodes of “‘Til Death.”